Kapitan Lim's Well

Kapitan Lim's Well, Kuala Terengganu (31 December 2006)


Kapitan Lim's Well (GPS: 5.3321, 103.13376) is an old well in the Chinatown of Kuala Terengganu. The well is said to have been dug by local Chinese headman, Kapitan Lim alias Low Tiey or Lao-Die.

The Chinese people in Kuala Terengganu trace their ancestry to Hokkien seafarers who left the coast of southern China, particularly Fujian Province, during the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. These Hokkien-speaking people populate most of the coastal areas of peninsular Malaysia, including Kuala Terengganu. The collapse of the Ming Dynasty caused a wave of refugees who left Fujian Province to escape Manchu rule, particularly in the wake of rebellion staged by Ming sympathizers such as Koxinga.

It is unclear when the Lim clan migrated from Fujian Province, but they were already settled in Kuala Terengganu in the 19th century, when in 1875, a severe drought hit the town to provide fresh drinking water to the Lim clan. It is located near the southern bank of the Terengganu River, in a place called Kampung Tiong, or Chinese village, now known as Kampung Cina.

The drought caused other wells in Kuala Terengganu to dry up or become too salty. Only the well of the Lim clan was able to supply water fit for drinking. The headman of the clan was Lim Keng Hoon, or Kapitan Lim. He was generous in allowing the public to draw water from the well. Due to his capabilities, he was appointed Low Tiey, or Intermediary, to look after the interest of the Chinese community.

Kapitan Lim's clan was designed to reflect the social norms of that period. It has two bathing chambers, to cater to men on one side and women on the other. A low wall measuring 6 meters by 6 meters surround the well.

Signage to Kapitan Lim's well (31 December, 2006)

Kapitan Lim's Well on Google Maps Street View (Apr 2019)

Kapitan Lim's Well is on Map of Kuala Terengganu

List of Historic Sites of Kuala Terengganu, Historic Sites of Terengganu and Historic Sites of Malaysia

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